GOP’s Mike Kennealy petitions Mass. regulators not to enforce campaign loan limit law

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Mike Kennealy petitioned the state s campaign finance office this past week to reconsider Massachusetts limit on the amount of cash a candidate for governor can loan themselves each electoral process according to a letter penned by a D C lawyer Kennealy made the pitch through an attorney weeks after he launched his bid for governor with a pledge to seed his campaign with million from his own personal wealth His campaign revealed that waiving the loan limit is necessary to protect Kennealy s family in the event of a tragedy Chris Ashby a Washington D C -based lawyer enlisted by Kennealy announced a U S Supreme Court ruling renders the Massachusetts state law capping the amount of money a gubernatorial candidate can loan to themselves each referendum cycle unconstitutional But the attorney reported the Office of Campaign and Political Finance may never have had the opportunity to consider the matter Therefore for the reasons set forth below we request that your office consider the constitutionality of the candidate loan limitation in light of Buckley v Valeo and issue appropriate written guidance or other response making clear that OCPF will not enforce the loan limitation the letter revealed Ben Hincher Kennealy s campaign manager stated the former secretary of housing and economic expansion under Gov Charlie Baker will hand his campaign million regardless of what state regulators decide This is a request to offer protection for Mike s family in the unlikely event of an unforeseen tragedy but if the request isn t granted Mike will be contributing million Hincher stated in a report to the Herald Saturday Kennealy raised more than in April a majority of which came through a loan to himself according to his campaign and state content A spokesperson for the Office of Campaign and Political Finance declined to comment on the request In the letter to campaign finance regulators Ashby points to the Jan U S Supreme Court opinion in the event of former U S Sen James Buckley of New York versus Francis Valeo the then-secretary of the U S Senate and ex officio member of the Federal Voting Commission Buckley and others argued that the Federal Poll Campaign Act of limitation on the use of money for political purposes violated First Amendment guarantees for free expression because no political expression could be made without the expenditure of money according to the Federal Voting process Commission Ashby announced the court ruled that a ceiling on personal expenditures by candidates on their own behalf imposes a substantial restraint on the ability of persons to engage in protected First Amendment expression The attorney mentioned that under the ruling the Massachusetts state law limiting the amount a candidate can loan to themselves or their campaign committee constitutes a limitation on the candidate s personal expenditures in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution He also pointed to a ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in which the court struck down a Kentucky law that imposed a cap on the amount of money a candidate could loan to his or her campaign The U S Court of Appeals exposed that limitations on candidates loans are limitations on campaign expenditures and limitations on campaign expenditures are prohibited by the U S Supreme Court ruling the letter to Massachusetts regulators revealed Indeed just as the federal law at issue in Buckley and the Kentucky law at issue in Anderson Massachusetts law defines a contribution to include any loan to a candidate or candidate s committee Ashby wrote In fact Massachusetts law further clarifies that a loan also is an expenditure Kennealy s push to loan himself millions came after his campaign raised more than in contributions in April his first month running for governor according to his aides He also spent in April according to state figures including with Opinion Diagnostics a polling company run by Brian Wynne the former campaign manager for Baker Opinion Diagnostics conducted a survey in April that uncovered Gov Maura Healey was in an extremely vulnerable position and alleged Kennealy had a better chance at beating the first-term Democrat in over other prospective Republican challengers Kennealy also dished out more than to BW Creative Agency a marketing agency that regularly does work with political candidates and tens of thousands to consultants and campaign staff state details manifested Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan declared Massachusetts voters have no interest in weak leadership that refuses to stand up to Donald Trump s actions that hurt Massachusetts every day The majority of his April fundraising comes from a personal donation because he has no real grassroots promotion Voters are sending a clear message we need a governor who will stand up to Donald Trump not on the sidelines like MAGA Mike Kennealy Kerrigan commented in a message to the Herald Kennnealy is the only Republican to have formally entered the gubernatorial vote Brian Shortsleeve a former MBTA executive who helped fundraise for Florida Gov Ron DeSantis previously declared he is considering a bid and enlisted the services of a well-known Republican strategist Healey reported in February that she plans to run for reelection A poll that same month of Massachusetts residents conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst revealed Healey had a overall approval rating The survey also revealed that only of respondents would back Kennealy over Healey and would vote for Shortsleeve But in both instances a large share of those polled noted they were still unsure of who they would aid in the gubernatorial polling Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill Boston HeraldGov Maura Healey Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill Boston Herald